Global Arab Network | Moroccan party close to the monarchy wins elections

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Moroccan party close to the monarchy wins elections

Edited by Fouad Boukhlait

Sunday, 14 June 2009 14:44

A new party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, led by a politician close to Morocco's King Mohammed VI has won the most seats in Morocco’s local elections.

Around 30 parties stood in Friday's polls to elect nearly 28,000 members to 1,500 municipal councils.
The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) was formed last June by Fouad Ali el-Himma, a close friend of King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan monarch.

Late last month, PAM pulled out of the country's governing coalition ahead of the local elections and aligned itself with the opposition.
It won 6,015 seats, giving it 21.7 per cent of the national vote, ahead of the governing Istiqlal (Independence) party with 5,292 seats and 19.1 per cent, Chakib Benmoussa said on Saturday.

The local elections were seen as a test for the government of Abbas el-Fassi, the prime minister.
His Istiqlal party's second place finish meant a certain reaffirmation of the government, which had been accused of not having a solid programme despite the Moroccan economy having weathered the global crisis fairly well.

The moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD), which scored its best result in 2007, picked up only 1,513 seats, putting it in sixth place.

'good conditions'

The local elections ran in "good conditions," international observers who monitored the polling said on Saturday.
"We were impressed because we've seen very clearly that people were well acquainted with the rules and were well prepared" for elections, Leslie Lebel, one of the international observers told Morocco's Al Oula channel TV.
"Everything took place in very good conditions," she said.

Jean Charles Brisard noted the "professionalism" of the election supervising teams and a "great sense of responsibility and an accurate knowledge of the polling modalities."
For her part, Rachel Ehrenfeld of the American Center for Democracy said the elections registered "no irregularities."

She is one of the 150 international observers who monitored Friday elections to choose 27,795 councilors. The polling has witnessed a turnout of 52.4%, that is over seven million of the 13.3 million voters.
The national turnout was 52.4 per cent, below the 54 per cent recorded in 2003 local elections but well above the 37 per cent figure for legislative polls in 2007.
Morocco's next parliamentary election is due in 2012.(AFP, MAP)

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